Calculate Mileage

Trying to figure out your carbon footprint? Next time you gas up your family car, zero the trip odometer. The next time you gas-up check the odometer. Divide miles driven since your last fill-up by number of gallons added this time. Example: 314 miles / 8.7 gallons = 36 miles per gallon. A gallon of gasoline is assumed to produce 8.8 kilograms (or 19.4 pounds) of CO2*. *www.epa.gov/oms/climate/420f05004.htm

100 years ago

In 1911, the average lifespan of the American male was 48 years, (skewed by the high rate of childhood mortality). The high school graduation rate was 10% (predominantly white males).

Study Guide

Let me know if I can help you in Science. That's what I'm here for.

The following study guide is based on the old text but covers a lot that's still on the exam (especially ecology, evolution and biomes). If you need a quick fix, scroll to the bottom and download the "Midyear practice vocab match." Might I suggest clicking control-F (command-F for Macs) in the browser to find terms from that document explained on this page.

Hint:
To quickly find what you are looking for, use the find command under your browser's edit menu (shortcuts for PC: "control F", Mac: "command F") and
enter a key term from the lesson you want to study in the box.

Unit 1: Studying Earth

Chapter 1: Planet Earth
1.1 Earth Planet of LifeA planet's characteristics are determined chiefly by its
Density
Composition
Distance from Sun
The 4 inner planets are largely rock,
the 4 outer planets
are gas giants.
The 9th "minor planet", Pluto, is composed largely of rock and ice.
Earth's density, composition and distance (3rd from the sun) make it,
"the Goldilocks planet" (Just right):
the only planet with water in all
3 phases: liquid, solid (ice), and gas (water vapor). Liquid water (H2O) is essential to life.
Earth's water stores heat during warm periods, releasing it during cold
ones, maintaining a more stable surface temperature than other planets.
Air also stores heat, without this "Greenhouse Effect" our average
surface temperature of 14 °C (57 °F)
would be about -18 °C (–0.4 °F).

Mnemonics: a useful study techniqueMake up kooky sentences to help recall hard stuff like the order of planets:
My Very Excellent Mom Just Sent Us Nine Pizzas (MVEMJSUNP):
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

Things that wrap the globe are "...spheres":
Lithosphere: Earth's land — rocks and minerals (nonliving).
Hydrosphere: Earth's water (nonliving).
Atmosphere: Earth's air (nonliving).
Biosphere: All parts of Earth that support and contain life.
If Earth
was an apple the biosphere would be thin as the apple's skin, only 20
kilometers (12.4 miles). 1K = 0.6M
Few organisms can withstand the low pressure,
lack of oxygen, and cold of high mountains, or the high pressure,
darkness, and little food of the ocean's depths.
Ecology: Studies interactions of Earth's living and non-living things.
Ecologists study Earth, home of living things.
Ecosystems: All the factors that are "biotic" (living) and "abiotic" (non-living energy, air, water, & land) in an environment.
Biodiversity: The variety of life in an ecosystem (Bio = life)
Evolution:
All life shares a common ancestor over an almost unimaginably vast span
of time (Earth is thought to be 4.5 billion years old, with evidence of
organic material dating back over 3.5 billion years). Because those individuals best matched to changing environmental conditions are most likely to reproduce, their characteristics shape the population of their place and time.

Electromagnetic spectrum: radiates outward in waves, from Sun, Earth's
primary energy source, and from Earth's heated core.
All except the
color wavelengths are invisible (from longer to shorter: ROYGBIV:
red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet).
Earth's
heat primarily is in the (invisible) infrared portion of the
electromagnetic spectrum and is emitted to space. Skin tanning is
caused by (invisible) ultraviolet rays from the sun (leads to skin cancer, also can
be used to sterilize - kill - bacteria)
High UV index = risky, use
high SPF sun block.
Stratospheric ozone protects from deadly UV rays,
was being destroyed by human-made "CFCs" (ChloroFluoroCarbons)
once-used as aerosol propellants in spray cans and as refrigerants in
air conditioners. Now banned — the great environmental success story of
the 1980s!
Chap 1:2 Rock Cycle:Igneous rock forms when melted rock (magma) cools.
Granite cooled beneath Earth's surface.
Basalt cooled as it rolled out of volcanoes.
Pumice was lava ejected from volcanoes that cooled while
still up in the air (it has so many air spaces it floats). Sedimentary rock: sediments (tiny rock pieces)
produced by weathering
(that breaks rock)
and erosion (that moves the pieces).
Sediments are deposited, pressed and cemented in layers.
Cementing
occurs as evaporating water
leaves dissolved minerals behind.
These
minerals bind sediments together by
filling the spaces between the
pieces.
This is the kind of rock in which fossils may be found.
Examples include:
Sandstone,
Limestone (from calcium carbonate shells of ancient sea organisms),
Shale (from mud),
Puddingstone is a conglomerate of cobbles (round stones) trapped in mud. Metamorphic rock formed from any kind of rock subjected to intense heat and pressure
(though not enough to cause melting).
Marble metamorphosed from limestone.
Slate metamorphosed from shale.Gneiss (say "nice") is coarse-grained and banded.Shiny scaly metamorphs are schists.Fine-grained metamorphs such as slate split (cleave) along parallel layers. In large exposures, metamorphic rocks may show folds from the
tectonic forces that molded them deep within the earth.
www.mrtyrrell.com/sec%201.htmlIn general, rocks with cemented grains, sometimes in layers, are sedimentary, they may have fossils.
Metamorphic rocks often have bands, are harder than most sedimentary rocks.
Igneous rocks are crystaline without bands or layers.
Any of the 3 kinds of rock can become any of the other kinds.

http://www.rocksandminerals4u.com/images/rock-cycle-diagram-im.jpg
Nice to know (not on test):
good soil: 25% air, 25% water, 45% rock,
5% decomposing organic material (AKA "humus")
and decomposers* ('It's alive')!
*microscopic fungi and bacteria
1:2 Hydrosphere:
Water (H2O) covers over 71% of our planet.
97% is salty (on average 300/00 (parts per thousand))
or 30 grams (g) per liter (L). ~75% sodium
chloride (NaCl)
table salt, (remainder: other minerals, including 3%
calcium chloride (CaCl2) from which corals, snails, clams, and many
(though not all) shell-forming organisms make their shells).
Less than 3% of the hydrosphere is fresh water. 2% of all fresh water
is frozen in polar ice caps and mountain glaciers, now melting because
of global warming.
Usable fresh water, available for consumption makes
up only 1% in the form of liquid surface water (streams, ponds) and
groundwater (aquifer: spaces between rock that hold a water layer).
Deep drilling and high pressure (from mass of rock & water above)
brings water up artesian wells.
Many populations (including
Stoughton's) have been using the water in their aquifers faster than it
can be deposited.
This is called overdraft.
1:3 Atmosphere:
Air: 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen.
Water vapor, other gases, and dust
particles
make up the remaining 1%.
including less than 0.04% carbon dioxide
(CO2) from which plants make (photosynthesize) food, adding oxygen to
the atmosphere. CO2 molecules have a vibration frequency (rate) that
absorbs the infrared (heat) energy waves that
Earth radiates into space. That's
the "greenhouse effect" without which Earth would be a "snowball
planet" too cold for life. 200 years of burning "fossil fuels", the
deep-buried solar energy collected over millions of years by ancient
plants (now carbonized as coal from swamps, oil from ocean plankton)
increases the greenhouse effect, making global warming the foremost
environmental issue of our time.

Thermosphere (Ionosphere)
Where auroras "Northern Lights" form

MesosphereStratosphere (includes ozone layer that
protects us from the Sun's deadly UV radiation)Troposphere (where weather and life are found)
Earth's atmosphere has 4 layers, know at least the 1st 2 as especially important:
Troposphere, closest to Earth's surface, where weather and life occur.
Climate is weather (chiefly temperature and precipitation) averaged
over time.
Stratosphere, next highest in altitude, includes ozone (03) molecules
(containing 3 oxygen atoms vs. the 2 oxygen atoms of the O2 molecules
we can breathe). Although tropospheric (lower altitude) ozone is a
dangerous pollutant causing breathing and other health problems, the
stratospheric ozone layer is essential to life, protecting all living
things from the sun's cancer-causing ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
A
major environmental success of the 1980s was the banning of chemicals
called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) found to be destroying stratospheric
ozone, especially over the South polar region (cold accelerates the reaction).
Stopping CFCs will allow
the "ozone hole" to eventually repair itself.
Mesophere, Coldest layer, is above the Stratosphere.
Thermosphere (note the "Th" — do not confuse with Troposphere) the
Atmosphere's outermost layer.
There, solar energy ionizes gases (knocks
off electrons, giving molecules net positive or negative electric
charges.
Ions, recombining with "free electrons", give off light, causing
auroras (shifting curtains of light that sometimes
cover the polar
sky).

For Midyear and Final Exams be sure to know Troposphere and Stratosphere.
1:4 Biosphere:
Biosphere: All parts of Earth that support and contain life.
If Earth
was an apple the biosphere would be thin as the apple's skin, only 20
kilometers (12.4 miles).
From ocean floor to mountain top. Most
organisms live between 500m below sea level to 6km above.
Few organisms
can withstand the low pressure, lack of oxygen, and cold of high
mountains or the high pressure, darkness, and little food of the
ocean's depths.

Energy enters biosphere as sunlight, flows through organisms and their
environments, eventually flowing out of biosphere as heat (infrared radiation) and is lost
to space.

Environmental interaction works both ways: beaver dams change streams
into a ponds.
Rainforests create 50% of their own weather. Factory
smoke changes the atmosphere.
In class, please Copy Fig.1.1 p.13: How organisms interact w/ each "sphere", list the ways for air, water, ground:

Chapter 2: Nature of Science
Environment: Everything that surrounds an organism (a living thing).
Science: Observation-based way to explain repeatable natural phenomena
Observations lead to hypotheses: possible explanations based on
evidence. If hypotheses have any explanatory power, experiments can be
designed that should have predictable, repeatable results. If not,
hypotheses must be changed.
Variable: Any factor affecting experimental outcomes.
Control Group: has all factors present when the original observations were made.
Experimental Group: is the same EXCEPT for 1 thing varied (added or excluded).
The Independent variable affects the dependent variables.
Graphic Representations: pie charts, line and bar graphs.
Biotic Factors: All living parts of an environment.
Abiotic Factors: All nonliving parts of an environment.

Chapter 3: Change in the Biosphere
Deep Time: Since Earth's beggining 4.5 or 4.6 billion years ago, change
has
been one of its characteristics, but, in a comparatively brief ~100,000
years of human existence, we have caused unusually rapid &
far-reaching change. (BTW that's the time span you need to keep in mind
because it's in our book but that's just our species, Homo sapiens,
another species, H. erectus, dates back nearly 2 million years.)Lithospheric Change: Plate TectonicsTectonic plates: Liquid rock (magma) emerging from below Earth's
surface cools to form the hard igneous rock, basalt. spreading ocean
floors. The collision between China and the plate on which India and Pakistan are located pushes up the Himalaya Mountains.
Plate Tectonics: Theory unifying the geosciences.
(geo = Earth from Gaia, Greek Earth Mother goddess).
The lithosphere
consists of several large moving pieces, or plates, whose boundaries
are
marked by mountains, earthquakes & volcanoes (where magma emerging,
cools into rock). The pressure and frictional heat of tectonic forces
cause rock to change (metamorphose) At subduction boundaries, gravity
pulls plates back
down into the mantle where rock liquifies into magma, completing the rock cycle.
Most plates either converge (move together) or diverge (spread apart).
At transform boundaries, plates stick, build tension until an abrupt
shift (earthquakes where Juan de Fuca and N. American plates meet at
California's San Andreas Fault). At convergent subduction boundaries,
denser ocean plates dive under less-dense continental plates pushing up
mountains. (Nazca plate sinks under South American plate forming the
Andes.) At divergent boundaries, molten rock (hot liquid magma) rising
from Earth's mantle, spreads and hardens, pushing the African plate away
from the South American plate and widening the Atlantic.

image from <http://www.exploratorium.edu/faultline/basics/images/pangea_lrg.gif>

Weathering: Breaks rock by gravity, wind, water, and temperature change (causing
repeated expansion (swelling) and contraction (shrinking) that weakens
material). The smallest broken rock pieces are called sediments.
Erosion: Carrying away of the sediments by gravity, wind, and water. The erosion caused by flowing water forms the Grand Canyon.
Hydrospheric Change: Ice AgesEarth's temperature drops if sun is blocked by smoke from
major forest fires, volcanic eruptions or collision with large meteors.
Ice caps and glaciers grow and sea levels drop (instead of replenishing
oceans, precipitation freezes, building up on land). As ice melts, sea
level rises. Our most recent ice age ended 10,000-12,000 years ago.
Mile-thick ice slowly expanding from the poles pressed down and gouged
out the land, caused major weathering and erosion, shaping the land as
it took up vast quantities of rock from house-sized boulders (AKA
glacial erratics) to the finest rock dust. Tall jagged mountains were
worn to rounded nubs. Where melt rate equaled expansion, sand &
stone left by the glacier formed Cape Cod. Farmers piled these stones
in walls along the boundary lines of their fields. Huge ice chunks deeply buried by
insulating dirt, eventually melted, forming round "kettle ponds."

Vicious cycles reinforce Earth's warming and cooling periods: Ice
reflects solar heat, the more ice, the colder Earth gets. Dark water
absorbs solar heat, the more ice melts, the more dark ocean is
exposed and warmed,
making ice melt faster (albedo: reflectivity).
Like Cape Cod and Boston Harbor, our Blue Hills were shaped
by the movement of glaciers The advance of glaciers is associated with an overall cooling of
Earth's climate. Their retreat is linked to global warming trends. At
present rates, Glacier National Park will soon become "The Park that
used to be known as Glacier" and the arctic will be ice-free each
summer, probably resulting in the extinction of Polar Bears.Illecillewaet
Glacier (Great Glacier) on the Canadian side of Glacier National Park, has retreated over 2000 meters since the photo on the left was taken circa
1898. <www.nichols.edu/.../glacier/glacier_retreat.htm>http://saferenvironment.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/melting_ice.jpg

El Nino: Because warm water holds less oxygen than cold water (ever
notice the bubbles escaping from a soda after you take it from the
refrigerator?) the increased water temperatures associated with El Nino
cause fish to die at Christmastime in S. America.

El Nino: Christmastime current of warm, nutrient-poor water flowing
southward along the S. American coast, in some years lasting months.
New England gets a mild winter, California floods, fish leave S.
American waters, fishermen go hungry. (Heat excites molecules driving
dissolved oxygen out of water, making it harder for fish to breathe.
Similar to carbonated beverages giving off bubbles after being taken
from the refrigerator.) Satellite images show that El Nino results from
an expanding warm water zone shifting from the western Pacific known as
the Southern Oscillation (pendulums swing or oscillate). Increasing
frequency and duration of El Nino events seem linked to Global Warming.Note: As of late summer 2010, we are reported (Boston Globe,
9/10/10) as having entered an El Nina, that portion of the cycle
characterized by colder than average waters off the S. American coast.
The report suggests an increased hurricane season:

"La Nina is marked by a cooling of the
tropical Pacific Ocean and was reported to be developing a month ago.
It strengthened throughout August and appears likely to last at least
through early next year, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Service said.

“La
Nina can contribute to increased Atlantic hurricane activity by
decreasing the vertical wind shear over the Caribbean Sea and tropical
Atlantic Ocean,’’ the center noted.

Wind
shear is a sharp difference in wind speed at different levels in the
atmosphere. A strong wind shear reduces hurricanes by breaking up their
ability to rise into the air, while less shear means they can climb and
strengthen."

Atmospheric Change: Global Warming
Volcanoes formed Earth's early atmosphere of water vapor (H2O),
Carbon Dioxide (CO2), nitrogen and sulfur. Photosynthesizers used solar
energy to create food from H2O and CO2 releasing the 1st oxygen.
The
gases cycle through organisms (living or dead) and back into the
Atmosphere. Forming a warming blanket or greenhouse effect. Burning
releases stored carbon leading to Global Warming. Volcanic eruptions
continue, as ever, to affect climate.

Until photosynthesizing organisms appeared, oxygen
was unlikely to have been part of Earth's atmosphere. Coal and
petroleum are the fossilized remains of the ancient photosynthisizers
that replaced Earth's once-carbon-dioxide-based atmosphere with one
remarkably high in the oxygen most present-day organisms require for
survival. By burning these fossil fuels, humans are returning carbon
dioxide to Earth's atmosphere — the very gas that contributes most to
the greenhouse effect.

3.2: Needs of Organisms
Even organisms that can live without oxygen must have water to survive,
making that the most important requirement for all living things.
Nutrients are also required for survival. They (a) provide energy, (b)
build tissues and (c) aid biochemical reactions.

In addition to food and water, Animals need territory to provide them with shelter.Some plant seeds live through cold winters but do not sprout until spring. In winter these seeds are dormant. Hibernation is a special form of dormancy in mammals characterized by
(a) slow breathing, (b) low body temperature, and a (c) slow heart
rate. It is surprisingly rare among New England mammals, it includes bears, bats, and a small number of rodents, not including squirrels.

Only the members of a given species can produce fertile offspring.

Nutrients: Substances an organism requires from food.
Territory: Living space claimed by an animal or group of animals.
Dormancy: An adaptive slowing of life processes for temporary periods
when needs cannot be met but life continues.
A seed is alive, but
dormant, so are deciduous trees like, Oaks and Maples, in winter, when
light is reduced and the water they need is frozen, unavailable.
Hibernation: A sleep-like form of dormancy found in some mammals,
allows survival when food is seasonally unavailable. Energy
requirements drop as body temperature lowers, breathing and heart rate
slow.3.3:The Ecosystem
Species: Group of organisms similar enough that they can breed producing fertile offspring.
Habitat: The specific environment in which a particular species lives.
Geographic Range: The TOTAL area that contains habitats in which a
species can live (geographical range may include some areas within that
range that are not suitable habitat for a species and habitat
destruction can reduce a
species' geographical range).
Population: All members of a species living in same area.
Community: All the different populations living and interacting in an
area. Communities HAVE populations.
Several different species
populations live IN community. Example: zebras, elephants, and giraffes. Ecosystem: All the biotic and abiotic factors interacting in an area.

A population of giraffes

A community of populations including
trees, grasses, elephants, zebras,
and giraffes

An ecosystem that includes the biotic community
well as the abiotic factors of land, air and water

The biodiversity of an ecosystem is measured by the number of species
it contains. All organisms obtain food, shelter, and other resources
from their habitat. The mass extinction of species today most often
results from habitat
destruction caused by attempting to meet the needs of our growing human
population. This puts us in direct competition with the biosphere
that
makes life possible in the first place. Since good planets are hard to
find, we must to learn to take
the best possible care of this one.

Unit 2:Ecological Interactions

Evolution
is supported by these key concepts:

Species: able to produce fertile
offspring

Speciation: the forming of new
species increases biodiversity over time.

Natural
selection:
advantages favoring individual survival -->favor reproduction --> shaping population as
traits increase/decrease based on who gets to reproduce.

Fossils: evidence form/structure
change over time measured by the sediment layer found in. Structure means body
parts. Form means the shape of those parts as well as the body’s shape overall

Comparative
anatomy: measures differences (variations) among species of shared common ancestry.

Molecular clock: the
rate of change can be timed by the predictably regular, random genetic
mutation or "drift" observable in DNA sequences among species of shared
common ancestry. Newer species are expected to show fewer of these
mutations, older species to have accumulated more of them.

Chapter 4 Matter and Energy in the Ecosystem
4.1 Roles of Living Things
Producers use abiotic factors (water, air, minerals) to make food.
Plants, algae and cyanobacteria photosynthesize
using solar energy,
extremophiles are bacteria that use energy stored in inorganic
molecules at hot springs or thermal vents on the ocean floor. Examples
are anerobes (primitive bacteria for whom oxygen is a deadly poison)
giving off hydrogen sulfide (the smell of rotten eggs) as a waste
product.
(Know that in science "organic" means carbon-based).
Consumers cannot make their own food. Include animals, fungi, protists (simple eukaryotes) and bacteria (prokaryotes).
Herbivores are plant eaters and are primary consumers.
Carnivores eat other consumers. Carnivores that eat plant eaters are secondary consumers. Carnivores that eat meat eaters are tertiary consumers.
Omnivores eat both plants and other consumers (meat). Depending on
what they eat they can act as primary, secondary or tertiary consumers.
Scavengers usually do not eat living prey. Like omnivores, scavengers can act as primary, secondary or tertiary consumers.
Detritivores eat detritus: decomposing organic matter. Worms and many
other organisms living in soil or near the bottom of aquatic ecosystems
are detritivores. Scavengers and detritivores start the process of
returning dead bodies to the environment.
Decomposers are bacteria and fungi that recycle nutrients from
organisms back into the environment. Without decomposers, the producers
(such as plants and algae) would quickly run out of nutrients.
Decomposers complete the cycle of matter in ecosystems.

4.2 Trophic Levels:
Producers are the 1st and largest trophic level because they make their
own food they are known as autotrophs (means "self-feeding"). Consumers form the 2nd and higher levels. Because they gain their
energy by eating other organisms we call them heterotrophs (means
"feeding-on others"). Primary consumers (plant eaters) form the 2nd
trophic level, secondary consumers form the 3rd trophic level and
tertiary or higher order consumers form the 4th and higher trophic
level(s). The 3 types that may feed at all but the 1st level are
omnivores, scavengers, and decomposers. Each level depends on the level
below.

Be careful: tricky test questions may ask you to know the difference
between trophic levels 1-4 (starting with producers at level 1) and
consumer levels 1-4 (starting with herbivores at 1°). Draw the triangle:

5 Quartenary (4°) Consumers

4 Tertiary (3°) Consumers

3 Secondary (2°) Consumers

2 Primary (1°) Consumers

1 Producers

Note that higher levels (than quartenary) are possible but rare.

Because energy transfer decreases by at least 90% with each upward step
(herbivores gain 10% or less of the plants' energy, etc.), few
ecosystems exceed 4 trophic levels, producer biomass (mass of living
organisms) is vastly greater than primary consumer (herbivore) biomass
and top-level carnivores tend to have low population densities and
require large territories. Some interesting exceptions include marine
(ocean) ecosystems, and the omnivorous human being who, in most parts
of the world is primarily herbivorous and relies on technology to
maintain a high population density rivaled (among large mammals) only
by the krill-eating seals of Antarctica.

4.3 Ecosystem Structure AKA Food Webs:

The important thing in reading food webs is that arrows point from
energy sources (food) -> to who gets that energy (consumers).
Google Images "Food Webs" and try to figure out which organisms are
herbivores (1° primary consumers) directly receiving their energy from
producers. Look at consumer levels: How many steps are there between
the top-level carnivore-of-carnivores and the herbivores? Remember to
check all possible arrow pathways. If there were 3 consumer levels the
carnivore would be a tertiary (3°) consumer. If there were 4 levels
then the carnivore would be a quaternary (4°) consumer: 1 producer
-> 2 herbivore -> 3 carnivore -> 4 carnivore -> 5
carnivore. Which organisms are autotrophs (producers)? Which are
heterotrophs (consumers)? Are the decomposers (bacteria and fungi)
represented? Many are invisible, they feed at all levels, and are
sometimes not shown or shown bracketing all other organisms.

The difference between food chains and food webs is that food chains
show 1 series of transfers between trophic levels while food webs show
a network of chains with multiple feeding choices (several organisms
may depend on the same food source, or one organism may have several
organisms to choose from).

Which provides greater chances for survival (flexibility, ecosystem
stability) in the event that a food source is removed from the
ecosystem, food chain or food web?

Food web questions often ask how the rise or fall of one species will
effect the populations of other species that it competes with, feeds on
or that depend on it for their food. Many scientists think that high
biodiversity equates with ecosystem stability.

Interesting points to ponder: Polar (Arctic/Antarctic) and temperate
zone ecosystems tend to have low biodiversity (fewer species) but each
species may have large populations (many individuals). Tropical
ecosystems (rain forests, coral reefs) tend to have high biodiversity
(many species) but intense competition results in these species having
small populations (fewer individuals of each species). The
near-extinction of Antarctic whales caused by 20th century whaling led
to booming populations of krill-eating squid, fish, penguins and seals
(p58, Fig.4.6). But will our new krill fishery lead to the crash of
fish, squid, penguin and seal populations? How may that effect the
region's tertiary (3°), or even quaternary (4°) level consumers such as
the toothed whales (orcas, sperm whales)?

Biological magnification is the increasing concentration of
fat-soluable pollutants in organisms at higher trophic levels in a food
web (water-soluable pollutants tend to be excreted as urine). The rapid
reproduction rate and short life spans of organisms low on the food web
make them more resiliant (able to adapt) to pollutants and pesticides.
Their populations rapidly shift in favor of individuals able to
reproduce in spite of the poisons. The traits of those who die before
reproducing are removed from the population. In spite of spraying we
will never get rid of mosquitos. In spite of antibiotics, we will never
eliminate bacteria. During relatively long lifetimes, large top-level
carnivores such as tuna, swordfish, whales and humans tend to
accummulate the poisons ingested by each individual organism they eat
and pass these poisons on to our offspring. This is why I never saw
hawks or eagles during my childhood. It took laws and many years before
enough of the pesticides were eliminated from our environment for
raptor populations to recover. This is yet another environmental
success story that has resulted from people trying hard to make the
world a better place than we found it. The harder we try the smarter we
get.

4.3 Ecological Pyramids

Please click:Chemistry of Life
We will spend at least 1 week on this material (which is not in our text) before continuing with 4.4 below. Chapter 4.4 CyclesRecognize that CHNOPS refers to 6 elements most commonly found in organisms (P refers to Phosphorous, S to Sulfur). 96% of your body is made from just 4 of these:Carbon, in the form of CO2,
makes up less than 0.04% of Earth's atmosphere but Carbon makes up
18.5% of human body weight. In science, the term "organic" means
carbon-based. Other elements readily bond with Carbon, making it the
element most essential to life.Hydrogen, primarily found in Earth's atmosphere as part of H2O (water), makes up 9.5% of your body. Nitrogen, as N2, makes up 78% of Earth's atmosphere but this form is not easily combined with other elements because N2 is
triple bonded together. Nitrogen makes up 3.5% of the human body in the
form of proteins, and, as the nucleic acids RNA and DNA.Oxygen
makes up the majority (65%) of your body and 21% of Earth's atmosphere.
It is the product of photosynthesis and is used in respiration to
release the energy chemically stored in foods.

The Water Cycle purifies Earth's water through evaporation. Transpiration
is evaporation from the leaves of plants, the mechanism that draws
water up from the roots. As water vapor (an invisible gas) rises, the
temperature and pressure of the surrounding atmosphere decrease until
the vapor condenses (forms microscopic droplets we perceive as clouds). Water returns to Earth as precipitation.

Carbon Cycle:

Recognize the important role photosynthesizers play in the carbon cycle,
as the ancient source for Earth's reserves of limestone (essential for
concrete) and fossil fuels (used in plastics, transportation, and the
generation of electrical power) and the chemical energy stored as
carbohydrates (C6H12O6), the base of all foods. Know that our present technologies for using these resources are responsible for Global Warming,
the radical increase in Earth's surface temperatures that started with
the industrial revolution and exponential increase in deforestation and
human population growth in the 19th century. The shift to
carbon-neutral technologies (ways of life that do not increase
atmospheric carbon levels) is the defining task for our moment in human
history, a role we alone have the knowledge and resources to
accomplish. Note that, in addition to atmospheric CO2, much
of Earth's carbon is locked up in the form of biomass both terrestrial
(land) and aquatic, dissolved in ocean water, as well as forming an
essential component of soils, supporting the bacterial and fungal
decomposers essential to plant growth.

Nitrogen Cycle:

Recognize the importance of legumes
(beans, clover, alfalfa, some trees) as hosts promoting the increase of
"nitrogen-fixing bacteria" found in soils. The legumes' roots provide
the bacteria with carbohydrates, in return the bacteria break apart the
triple-bonded atmospheric nitrogen molecules (N2)
and attach them to hydrogen, forming NH+ compounds (aka ammonia, ammonium). Next,
"nitrifying bacteria" feed on ammonia, converting it into the NO- compounds (nitrite, nitrate)
plants use to form "amino acids,
the building blocks of proteins."
There are 20 different amino acids. Proteins are polymer "chains"
constructed of amino acid "links" or monomers. The varying sequences of
different amino acids, determine the shape
and properties of the 1000s of different proteins that form living
organisms. At the other end of the nitrogen cycle, "denitrifying bacteria" return nitrogen compounds to the atmospheric gas form, N2 (along with some H2O).

In Summary: The main thing to keep in mind about the carbon cycle is the role of the photosynthesizers. that convert CO2 into sugars such as glucose: C6H12O6 (carbohydrates).

Key terms to be sure of for water cycle include transpiration (evaporation of the invisible gas, water vapor, from plants' leaves) condensation, the formation of tiny droplets by changes in temperature and/or pressure, and precipitation, when droplets' size grows to the point where gravity causes their fall.

The nitrogen cycle is complex but you'll be OK if you keep in mind the key word legumes,
plants that host the nitrogen-fixing bacteria that make nitrogen compounds available to all other organisms.
(These nitrogen compounds are essential for building proteins and
nucleic acids (DNA, RNA) and the bacteria that fix atmospheric nitrogen live in legumes'
roots). Legumes include beans, clover and alfalfa.Farmers can plant legumes in crop rotation to reduce their dependence on synthetic nitrogen-based fertilizers.Excess fertilizer (nutrient) runoff pollutes water leading to reduced oxygen levels (eutrophication).

Chapter 5: Ecosystem Interactions
5.1 Habitats and NichesThe location of an organism within its ecosystem is called its habitat.
The role of an organism (what it does) within its ecosystem is called
its niche. While, in theory, an organism might be able to have a large,
or, fundamental niche, the actual role of an organism in the
environment (its realized niche) is usually reduced by competition with
other species. The disappearance of one population due to the direct
competition with another species for resources is called competitive
exclusion. As a rule, no 2 species may occupy an identical niche at the
same time and place.

5.2 Evolution and AdaptationA species fits into its niche because of evolution, change in a
population's characteristics over time. Charles Darwin theorized that
evolution occurred through the process of natural selection powered by
random individual variation. Individuals having favorable ("adaptive")
traits are likely to dominate the population, while unfavorable traits
are likely to die off. Divergent evolution causes populations to be adapted to
specific niches, reducing competition with other species. Each species
uses a different part of its ecosystem. Highly specialized species
depend on specific food and habitat such as the the bamboo-eating panda
bear and the Eucalyptus-eating Koala. Generalist species usually are
less vulnerable to niche-eliminating habitat change and include
humans, cockroaches and mice able to survive by changing their behaviors to fit
new conditions.

Though similar ecosystems may be widely separated by time or space,
similar environmental pressures select for similar adaptations in
different organisms. When different organisms that occupy similar
niches share similar adaptations this is called convergent evolution.
Examples include birds and bats (both have wings) as well as top-level
marine carnivores such as ichthyosaurs (extinct ancient marine
reptiles), sharks, and dolphins.
Other species are an important part of an organism's environment. When
two species interact so closely that they are adapted to each other,
the interaction is called co-evolution. Examples include animals that
help to either pollinate or spread the seeds of the plants on which
they feed.
A non-native organism that is introduced into an existing ecosystem is
known as an alien species. Humans, accidentally or on purpose, are the
leading cause of species introductions. Invasive alien species are
those that outcompete native species by taking advantage of the
resources of their new ecosystem and the absence of factors (such as
predators, climate and disease) that limited their population growth in
their old ecosystem.

5.3 Populations

Thomas Malthus observed that organisms produce moreoffspring than can
survive. Darwin recognized that this leads to competition for resources
favoring selection of those most favorably adapted to env. conditions. Population growth curves in which each generation is a multiple of the
previous generation are examples ofexponential growth. If limits such as predation, disease or food supply are no longer an issue, population grows exponentially because more are born than can usually survive to ensure survival by a few. This has been the recentsituation for the human species. At what point is this imbalance between births and deaths no longer sustainable?

Do we reduce the number of births or does the number of deaths catastrophically increase? In these questions, our species has more choice than any living beings that have ever previously existed.

Over the long
term, exponential growth is unsustainable, food, living space and other
factors limit population growth leading to S-shaped curves: early
growth is exponential but eventually births equal deaths, and growth
reaches zero at the ecosystem's carrying capacity for a species, the maximum number
surviving to reproduce.

Population growth is limited by density-dependent limiting factorssuch as predation, parasitism, disease, and
competition for food, water and living space as well as by density-
independent limiting factors such as climate, human disturbance and
such natural disasters as earthquakes and floods that affect
populations regardless of size. Study the diagram (p.82) and know the
difference between the density-dependent and density-independent limiting factors:

They take advantage of density independent
factors that are favorable, such as seasonal temperature and rainfall,
dieing-off when the season passes to return at the same time next year.

Advances in technologies such as agriculture, energy development,
electronics, transportation, finance, and medicine have allowed humans
a recent period of exponential population growth in which our species
has covered the Earth while many other organisms have declined. As
resources become fully utilized we face the challenge of deciding
whether our impact on the biosphere will be limited voluntarily,
through education and careful planning, or as the result of such
disastrous changes to the planetary systems we depend on that our way
of life can no longer be supported.

Chapter 6 Ecosystem Balance
6.1 Ecosystem Relationships
Predator-prey relationships seldom result in extinctions. The hunter
and the hunted control each other's populations. Keystone predators
promote niche diversity in their habitat by preventing their prey from
outcompeting other organisms. When prey populations rise predator
populations also rise (preventing their prey's starvation from
over-grazing), and when hunting causes the fall of prey populations the
predators' populations also fall. Other Symbioses (close, co-evolved relationships between organisms)
include parasitism, in which one organism feeds on the tissues or body
fluids of another, injuring and possibly killing the host organism,
commensalism, which benefits one species and neither helps or harms the
other and mutualism in which both species benefit.

6.2 Ecological Succession
Primary succession is the sequence of communities forming in an
originally lifeless habitat. Lichens (an example of a symbiotic
relationship between an algae and a fungus) are the classic "pioneer
organism", usually first to grow on rock, able to make soil by
secreting acids that cause rocks to weather.

Secondary succession is the sequence of communities where a disturbance
eliminates most organisms except the soil, usually due to fires,
storms, and human activity.Why succession?

-Increasing
nutrient demands

-Longer
life cycles

-Photosynthetic
competition (shades out the lower plants) and

- deeper root systems able to capture a greater share of the ecosystem's water resource

Aquatic succession is the sequence of communities forming in a pond as
aquatic plants decompose adding nutrient-rich sediments until
eventually pond becomes marsh, marsh becomes meadow and meadow becomes
forest.

[Volcanic] island succession depends on rare colonizations by
mainland organisms. Geographical
isolation offers many empty niches to those species
able to find mates. Limited gene pool and inbreeding all promote
speciation from a common ancestor. In this way, the offspring of a few ancestors can
rapidly evolve into new species, each uniquely adapted to a specific
role. The classic example, Darwin's
finches, are birds similar to the
mainland finches of South America but, adapted to the varying physical
conditions and food resources of several different niches on the
Galapagos Islands. Some developed heavier bills for crushing hard
seeds, others
developed longer bills for taking insects from holes. One type even
acquired the behavior of breaking off cactus spines to use as a tool
for extracting insect larvae from holes in plants. As environmental
conditions change some traits increase the probability of individuals
surviving to reproduce. Those traits increasingly characterize the
population while other less-favored traits decrease. As a result of the
differential survival rates, new species form with behavioral and
physical characteristics best suited to the local environment (and
different from related species best suited for conditions of other
environments).This is known as the evolution of species by means of natural selection. For example, in periods
of
drought-induced food scarcity, competition for niches intensifies. The
ability to crack
harder seeds or catch more difficult-to-reach insects makes the
difference between life and death for a bird. On average, this leads to
smaller populations specialized for heavier bills among birds that eat
seeds and nuts and longer probing bills for birds that eat insects. When
environmental conditions improve ("the living is easy"), a wider
variety of foods become abundantly available and "regression to the
mean" (a more-generalized bird) may become the norm as populations (and
genetic diversity) increase.

As
you compare these birds, what beak variations do you see? How do you
think this relates to each bird's environmental conditions?

6.3 Ecosystem StabilityHow easily is an ecosystem affected by a disturbance? Can it return to
its original state? How quickly does it reach some sort of adaptive
equilibrium? Biotic and abiotic factors, energy and nutrient flow, and
community structure all play a part. Like falling dominoes, changes in
one part may have unforeseen consequences to the whole. Chaos theory
explores this sensitivity to small changes and the idea that initial
states are crucial to later developments. Biodiversity and greater food
web connections may increase resilience (the ability to bounce back
from a hit). Species and whole ecosystems may evolve then die but new
species and ecosystems can evolve to replace them. The growth of human
populations is widely believed to be causing the greatest mass
extinction since the dinosaurs. The main problems are habitat
destruction, introduced invasive alien species, damage to water
resources, and, emission of the greenhouse gases that cause global
warming. The concern: How will our disruption of the biosphere affect
its ability to support human life?

Unit 3: Biomes

6.4 Intro to Terrestrial Biomes Biome: a major ecosystem type with distinctive temperature, rainfall, and organisms.
Biomes are characteristically graphed by precipitation and temperature (and see text, p100):

Biome climate characteristics largely result from atmospheric convection patterns redistributing heat and moisture:
Image source: http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/2007/Labs/Unit%203b2007.htmI highly recommend playing with the on-line climographs at
http://www.uwmc.uwc.edu/geography/100/koppen_web/koppen_map.htm
To learn more, the map originates from http://www.uwmc.uwc.edu/geography/100/climlab.htm
An on-line college biome unit is available at http://www.runet.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/intro.html
Note that these courses use the "Koppen" climate classification system codes:
Dry Biomes
BWh and BWk: Desert
ET: Tundra
Semi-Arid Grasslands
Dfb: Steppe
BSk: Prairie
Aw: Savanna
Humid Forests
Dfc, Dfd, and Dwd: Northern Coniferous (aka Boreal, Taiga) Forest
Dfa, Cfa, and--in Europe, Cfb: Deciduous Forest
Af and Am: Rain ForestAll categories are theoretical
constructs devised by people with different viewpoints. This explains
the differences between biome maps from various sources.Note too, that
as climate and other human and natural impacts alter the biosphere,these regions can be expected to shift as they always have for as long as life has existed.

Comparing
Stoughton to the graph at the top of this page (from p100, our text) or
the table below, what biome do we occupy? Hint: use the metric measures.

BTW: if you want to do conversions yourself the formulas are:[in] =[cm]/2.54 [cm] =[in]*2.54

Deserts also formed by rain shadow effect: mountains block rain (it all
falls on the windward side, is blocked from the leeward side which
becomes desert). In USA, dominant wind and precipitation travels
west-to-east = temperate rain forests west of mountains, deserts east
of mountains
Deserts also formed by Desertification: An area the size of the state
of the state of Maine is turned into desert every year by people
overgrazing livestock on semiarid (sort of dry) grasslands next to
deserts:
overgrazing livestock depletes vegetation and compacts soil ("pavement" decreases soil's ability to absorb precipitation, increases evaporation, runoff, and erosion) = desert
Abiotic Characteristics
Deserts:
Low precipitation so
" water movement thru soil (aka leaching)
" organic matter in soil (too dry, too little biomass for decomposers)
High elevations and latitudes form cool deserts (Gobi in Mongolia is freezing).
" water runoff because of hard pavement that is exposed by wind
erosion of the loose, mineral-rich, upper layer (sand storms, hills
called "sand dunes"),
Dry (air) = extreme temperature swings day (hot) vs. night (cold). Why:
moisture moderates temperatures, no moisture, nothing to slow
temperature changes.

I've created biome graphic organizers for this entire unit. Use the notes above to fill in the graphic organizers to help you study Grassands and Forests. The rest (Dry Biomes, Aquatic and Marine) I've already done for you.

Chapter 10: Aquatic (Freshwater) BiomeUsable freshwater, available for consumption makes up approximately 1% of the hydrosphere. Two main kinds:
A) Standing Water Ecosystems include shallow ponds and deep lakes, wetlands (grassy marshes, shrub and tree-filled swamps, acidic bogs
with cranberries, carnivorous plants and sphagnum moss). Wetlands are highly
vulnerable to habitat destruction by expanding human population. Wetlands are valuable as sponges absorbing floods, filters of pollutants and excess
nutrients, and nursery habitat for wildlife.
B) Flowing Water Ecosystems have a downhill flow caused by gravity and include rills
(p327), brooks, streams, creeks and rivers. They are vulnerable to stream
diversion to meet human energy and water resource needs. Estuary: (plural: estuaries) where river meets ocean (brackish=mix of
fresh and salt water) saltiness (salinity) varies (and see Chap 11).
Abiotic Characteristics
Salinity, depth, flow rate, dissolved oxygen are the determining factors for types of organisms in aquatic biomes.
Salinity: Aquatic biomes are divided into two main groups (fresh and
salt) based on the amount of dissolved minerals in the water. The
average salinity of fresh water is 0.5‰ (parts per thousand (ppt), not to
be confused with parts per hundred, or %) , ocean salinity is ~30‰
(depending on freshwater input vs. evaporation -- so lower in estuaries, higher in tropics).

Depth determines amount of light (photic zone) the deeper the darker
(aphotic zone). Underwater plants are ONLY found in the photic zone
Flow Rate: water, moving or still
Dissolved Oxygen: determined by temperature (warm or cool, liquid or
frozen). Cold water holds more oxygen than warm water. Water freezes
from the top down, is often still liquid under ice (because ice, less dense, floats).
Benthic: bottom of a body of water
Sediment deposition (gravity-caused settling and accumulation of
particles from erosion and weathering). Turbidity: the effect of
suspended sediments reducing water clarity.

Stream flow varies, building meanders (winding curves) because flow is
faster along outer edge of a winding curve, slower along inner edge,
stream banks are shaped as sediments cut from outer edge are deposited
(as beaches) along inner edges (p162).
Biotic Characteristics
Plankton- drifters cannot swim against currents.
Phytoplankton (Phyto=plant) The most important producers in AQUATIC
ecosystems, need to be able to stay in the light, with nutrients, the
limiting factors.
Zooplankton (Zoo=animal) consumers, feed on phytoplankton or on other zooplankton.
Most marine animals breath oxygen dissolved in water. Marine mammals surface for air.
Detritus = tiny pieces of decomposing organic material, food web base
eaten by Detritivores. Many benthic animals depend on this food source
(p170).
Stream-dwelling organisms are adapted to flow rate.

Chapter 11: Marine (Saltwater) BiomeOceanic Zone: Largest zone (90%. of ocean) from 200M (edge of
continental shelf, the shallow border area surrounding major land
masses) to 11,000M benthic zone (abyss).
Neritic Zone: "Near" Low tide mark to continental shelf edge includes
estuaries (where rivers meet ocean). Neritic Zone more productive (has
more photosynthesizers) than oceanic zone as benthic zone is photic.
Tropical coral reefs have very high biodiversity, productivity, and
biomass, but high species competition for niches and food results in
low species populations (make this ecosystem highly vulnerable to
habitat destruction). Over long periods of time, corals build vast
calcium carbonate (limestone) structures called reefs. Corals are
simple animals living in colonies in symbiotic mutualism with
photosynthesizing algae called zooxanthellae that live within their
tissue. These algae provide corals with carbohydrates in exchange for
nutrients (the corals' wastes) and shelter. With most nutrients locked
up in living organisms, like rain forest soils, rapid nutrient cycling
makes reef waters nutrient-poor. "Seaweed" (algae) Kelp beds are a cold
water counterpart to coral reefs in terms of high biodiversity.
Intertidal Zone: Area alternately exposed and submerged by tides,
vulnerable to coastal development, important buffer zone, protects
nearby lands from tsunamis & storms.
Estuaries (where fresh & salt water meet) slow the flow, filter
sediments & pollutants. Rich in nutrients, detritus & light:
base of food webs. River delta: triangular landform at river's mouth
where slowing water results in deposition (settling) of sediments
eroded from land. Sedimentation leads to subsidence (sinking) and
compression into layers. A characteristic estuarine ecosystem is the
temperate salt marsh (grassy) though low in biodiversity it has VERY
high species populations, productivity & biomass (salt hay). High
levels of detritus & nutrient flow from land make these waters
nutrient-rich, important spawning ground (nursery) for many species.
Most salt marshes have been filled to provide living space for the
expanding human population. The tropical counterpart to a salt marsh is
the mangrove swamp (woody, mangroves are salt adapted trees) these
ecosystems are vulnerable to shrimp farming (aquaculture) & filling
for living space.
Tides: gravitational
relationship of ocean to the Earth/Moon unit cause coastal sea level rise
and fall over a 12 hour 25 minute period as equal and opposite waves
follow Moon's revolution around Earth (a smaller influence is alignment
of Earth, Moon and Sun causing monthly "Spring" (extreme) and "Neap"
(moderate) tidal variation). Tides at different points on Earth are
influenced by a very large number of factors but tidal differences are
smallest in open ocean and highest where ocean narrows between land
masses. In Boston Harbor a 10-11 ft difference is typical.
Abiotic Characteristics (and see Chap 10 guide)
Light (photic) greatest at surface, but nutrients sink, limiting factor on photosynthesis
Dark (aphotic) the deeper the darker, less diversity in oceanic benthos
(bottom). Food web depends on nutrient fall "marine snow" and on
chemosynthesis (not described in text) by autotrophic bacteria feeding
on chemicals from undersea volcanoes.
Currents — wind-driven, text fails to discuss temperature-driven
"conveyer belts" (between equator & poles) controlling world
climate & daily vertical plankton migration.
Salinity — varies with evaporation rate and freshwater inputs (tropics
saltiest, glacial melt makes polar seas less saline, but cold water is
more dense than warm water. Estuaries mix fresh + salt water, called
brackish).
Biotic Characteristics
Most of Earth's living space is the ocean (97% of Earth's water, covering 71% of Earth's surface).
Plankton- drifters cannot swim against currents.
Phytoplankton (Phyto=plant), our planet's most important, ancient, and
numerous producers, need to be able to stay in the light, and where
there are nutrients (most productive in shallow, neritic, zone).
Herbivorous zooplankton (zoo=animal) feed on phytoplankton. Carnivorous
zooplankton and other marine animals feed on herbivorous zooplankton.
Most marine animals need & are able to get oxygen that is dissolved
in water 8ppm (parts per million) is a high level of dissolved oxygen,
marine mammals, reptiles, and birds, surface for air (atmosphere is 21%
oxygen, 78% nitrogen).
Detritus = tiny pieces of decomposing organic material, food web base
eaten by Detritivores. Many benthic animals depend on this food source.

Mid Year
Review: Briefly Define Each Term

CHAP 1- Planet Earth

Atmosphere

Troposphere

Stratosphere

Ozone

Lithosphere: Describe how each of the 3
rock types are formed:

Igneous Rock

Sedimentary Rock

Metamorphic Rock

Hydrosphere

Aquifer

Biosphere

What role do the amounts of an area's
nonliving factors such as water, light, oxygen, and pressure play in
determining its quantity and variety of living organisms?

Ecology

Organism

CHAP 2- Methods of Science

Know the steps in designing a scientific
experiment (Scientific Method):

Observation

Hypothesis

Prediction

Experiment

Experimental
Group

Control Group

Variable

Data Collection

Data Analysis

Evaluate Hypothesis

Biotic Factor

Abiotic Factor

Graphic Representations

(draw example of each)

Line Graphs

Bar Graphs

Pie Charts

CHAP 3- Change in the Biosphere

Know habitat requirements needed to
support a population of organisms

Tectonic Plate

Weathering

Erosion

Species

Habitat

Geographical Range

Territory

Nutrients

Dormant

Hibernation

Ecosystem

Biodiversity

Population

Community

Intro To Chemistry

Atom

Atomic Number

Proton

Element

Neutron

Nucleus

Atomic Mass

Electron

Energy Levels (Orbitals)

CHAP 4- Matter and Energy in the
Ecosystem

Be prepared to analyze consumer levels in
a food web

Producers

Consumers

Decomposers

Trophic Level

Biomass

Food Chain

Food Web

Ecological Pyramid

Biological Magnification

Transpiration

Evaporation

Legume

Crop Rotation

Note that amino acids are an example of an organic molecule (containing carbon) that can only
exist because Nitrogen-fixing bacteria (in soil and concentrated in
legume root nodules) convert atmospheric Nitrogen into a form other
organisms can use. These means that the Nitrogen cycle is particularly
important in discussing amino acids and the proteins they form.

Note that in any discussion involving CO2 the Carbon cycle is likely to play a most important role.

CHAP 5- Interactions in the Ecosystem:

Be able to analyze effects of
evolutionary pressures on species relationships

Niche

Competitive exclusion

Keystone Predator

Prey

Predator

Exponential Growth

Carrying Capacity

Density-dependent limiting factor (there are 6 of these and their limiting effects intensify as populations increase)

Density-independent limiting factor (there are 3 of these and they limit populations regardless of size)

Evolution

Charles Darwin

Natural selection

Survival of the fittest

Convergent Evolution

Coevolution

Specialized species

Generalized species

Alien Species

CHAP 6- Ecosystem Balance

Population change analysis (in community
of producers, predators, prey, competitors)

Parasitism

Commensalism

Mutualism

Lichen

Primary succession

Secondary succession

Climax Community

Biome

Know how to ID biomes given precipitation
and temperature based on the diagram on p100 (see copy below)

CHAP 7- Desert and Tundra

Explain similarities/differences between
desert and tundra lithospheres for plant adaptations

Leaching

Pavement

Succulent

Nocturnal

Rainshadow Effect

Desertification

Permafrost

Migration

CHAP 8- Grassland Biomes

Know what biotic and abiotic factors
maintain a stable grassland ecosystem, preventing its succession to forest

Grasslands

Desert-grassland boundary

Steppe

Bunchgrasses

Prairie

Sod-forming
grasses

Humus

Savanna

Runner vs. Rhyzome

vertical-feeding
pattern

CHAP 9- Forest Biomes

Know typical species and general
characteristics of each type of forest (note examples below)

Conifer

Deciduous:

Canopy

Understory

herbaceous stratum

Rainforest

Deforestation

CHAP 10- Freshwater Biomes:

Wetlands: give at least 3 reasons for their environmental
importance

Salinity

Benthic Zone

Photic vs. Aphotic Zone

Phytoplankton

Zooplankton

CHAP 11- The Marine Biome:

Explain characteristics of estuaries that
make them economically important

Oceanic Zone

Continental Shelf

Neritic Zone

Reef

Intertidal Zone

Estuary

Detritus

Sediments

Subsidence

Tip: use a key term in your browser (notsite) search box to move to the part of this page you want.

Unit 4: People
in the Global Ecosystem

Chapter 12 People and Their NeedsEarth systems (e.g.: carbon, nitrogen and water cycles) are
interconnected and open to the energy source that drives them (the Sun), but
closed with respect to matter (limited to materials present since Earth's
formation).
- Modern humans evolved 40,000 to 100,000 years ago, passing through a series
of survival strategies: hunter gatherer, agricultural, industrial. Increasing
population density and resource use determine level of environmental damage
caused by each type of society.
- Nomads make little effort to control natural processes, they move from place
to place, if population densities are low, this may allow resources time to
regenerate.
- 10,000 years ago, invention of the plow and animal
domestication increased food supplies leading to specialized roles in settled
communities. Beneficial practices such as crop rotation and periodically
leaving fields "fallow" (resting) allow soils (soil organisms,
nutrients) time to regenerate, however increasing population density,
deforestation, overgrazing (soil compaction, loss of the vegetative ground
cover that protects soils from erosion), and poor soil management have resulted
in desertification for many parts of the world.
- Industrial societies began 2-300 years ago, replacing craftspeople and farm
workers with machines powered by burning fossil fuels. Increased food supplies
and medical advances led to exponential growth of human population. Air, land
and water pollution increased. Interaction between industrial society and
natural environment a main course theme.
- Ethics are societies' statements of moral values (right vs. wrong).
"Frontier ethic" assumes unlimited resources, meant for human
consumption, believes people are separate from nature (not subject to natural
laws) with success measured by human 'control' over natural world. This does
not reflect what we are learning about how Earth functions. "Sustainable
development ethic" seeks to meet global human needs without limiting ability
of future generations to meet their needs. This means re-engineering society so
humans can last indefinitely into the future by not using up Earth's limited
food, water, living space, and energy resources.
- Renewable resources are those that regenerate quickly (return to initial
levels within a human lifespan). Nonrenewable Resources either do not
regenerate or have regeneration times vastly longer than human lifespan. Demand
must be reduced through reuse and recycling.
- In 1972 James Lovelock took "Gaia" (an ancient goddess) as name for
his hypothesis that Earth functions like an organism that regulates itself to
maintain life. The idea is timely (as more scientists investigate connections
between Earth's biotic and abiotic systems), but controversial (Earth systems
may be connected without necessarily favoring life, evidence shows repeated
near-elimination of life).Also, the
term "hypothesis" is something of a misnomer, the Gaia idea is more
of a metaphor than a testable prediction about how our planet's biotic and
abiotic systems will operate. It expresses a poetic truth about co-evolved
symbioses observable throughout the biosphere, the complex interactions that
took vast spans of time to develop into their present forms.

Thomas Malthus had the idea that more are born than can survive
because food supplies tend to increase arithmetically while, unchecked, human
populations tend to increase at exponential rate. Population outstrips food
supply leading to war, famine, poverty and disease. From Malthus, Darwin
recognized natural selection shapes population to fit environmental conditions,
those less fit being less likely to reproduce.

- Demography: the science of human population statistics (the relation between
births and deaths that determine population size, for example: ZPG (zero
population growth): Birth rate = Death rate.

Overpopulation: Health of human societies and natural ecosystems affected if
the environment's carrying capacity is exceeded. Resource increases and
technological development often result in population increases.
Lack of technological development keeps death rates high from disease,
competition for food, water, living space and other density-dependent and
density independent population limiting factors. Education, (along with
improved health, food supplies and other benefits of improved technologies),
may persuade populations to voluntarily limit their increase.

Chapter 14 Feeding the World, Human Nutrition & Food SupplyNote: For more detailed information on carbohydrates, lipids and
proteins, use this link to chemistry of life.

Essential Amino Acids : The 8 amino acids that must be obtained by eating
foods. The other 12 can be made by our bodies. Totaling 20, amino acids combine
to make the 1000s of different proteins in our bodies -- much as the 26 letters
in our alphabet make 1000s of words.

Vitamins and Minerals: Micronutrients needed for biochemical reactions that
release the energy contained in the macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins and
lipids).

Malnutrition Any lack of a specific nutrient (macro or micro) in diet. A
person can be well-fed yet their diet may lack a specific nutrient (example:
scurvy from lack of vitamin C). They can also be starving from overall lack of
food. Both are forms of malnutrition. Starvation claims the life of an
estimated 25,000 people a day.

Green Revolution: Began in mid-1960s with development of new strains of wheat
and rice, the world's 2 main foods.

Monoculture: growing only one crop, today, these are often genetically
identical strains selected for high productivity (more food per plant), highly
vulnerable to disease or pests, so requiring additional water, fertilizer,
pesticides, etc. not needed by more biodiverse, locally adapted varieties.

Cash Crop: crop grown for purpose of sale, often export, not local eating.

Aquaculture: fish farming, commercial production of fish (and other aquatic
organisms -- seaweeds, mollusks, etc.) in controlled, environment. Fish remain
one of the few wild foods commonly eaten and wild populations are crashing
worldwide from unsustainable catch rates. This makes farmed fish an
increasingly important food source, but with some controversies (diseases and
parasites may spread to wild populations whose natural selection for fitness to
local environmental conditions may be diluted by interbreeding with
domesticated stocks).

Integrated Pest Management (IPM): reducing dependency on pesticides by more
carefully targeted use (overuse speeds evolution of pesticide resistant insect
populations) by promoting carnivorous insects that prey on the herbivorous
insects that are the chief crop destroyers.

Unit
5: Energy Resources

Chapter 15 Energy From Organic FuelsNote: For more detailed information on carbon-based fuels, use
this link to chemistry of life.
Organic: carbon-based

Fuel: Any substance from which energy can be obtained, usually by burning it.

Hydrocarbon: Compounded of hydrogen and carbon

Fossil fuel: Fuels derived from organisms over millions of years.

Charcoal: (not discussed in our text) The carbonization of wood using high heat
in the absence of oxygen (so the carbon is not (yet) burnt into carbon
dioxide) driving off wood's non-carbon components (especially water) .
Charcoal-making is a major cause of deforestation in poor nations, where it
often seems to be the most concentrated energy source available for cooking and
heating. Although charcoal burns cleaner and hotter than wood (reducing the
incidence of upper respiratory disease associated with inhalation of smoke particles),
the carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide given off when burnt are important
environmental and human health concerns, reasons charcoal (and other organic
fuels) should never be burnt in unvented (indoor) spaces.

Peat: Brittle brown compressed plant material relatively high in water,
low in carbon, from ancient swamps, 1st stage in forming coal (not a kind of
coal). Traditionally burnt for fuel in parts of the world (such as Ireland)
where trees were scarce.

Petroleum: liquid fossil fuel metamorphosed from ancient marine phytoplankton.
Because various liquid hydrocarbons condense at different temperatures,
a range of products differing in viscosity are "refined" from the
various hydrocarbons making up "crude" oil. In distillation
fractioning, those hydrocarbons ("fractions" of crude) that are
lighter in mass rise higher in the fractioning tower (boiling, evaporating, and
condensing at cooler temperatures) while the heavier fractions have higher
boiling points and condense and are drawn off for use at (hotter) temperatures
lower in the tower:

Note that petroleum refinery processes
such as the example shown above require high heat and pressure in an oxygen-free
environment (to prevent combustion). Click here for a link
to a detailed 10 minute video if you would like to know more about the refining
process.
Natural gas: (methane, ethane, propane) often trapped above petroleum deposits,
used for home heating and cooking.

Biomass fuel: Fuels formed from remains of recently living plants (renewable resources using CO2 to grow so
no net carbon increase). However, particulate air pollution, economics of diverting food crops for use as fuelstocks, & deforestation
remain concerns. Examples include: wood, garbage or other organic wastes, methane and alcohol (ethanol).

Bioconversion: Converts organic material into fuels such as biodiesel from
vegetable oil,
ethanol from sugar cane (Brazil) corn (USA) or other plants.

1st Law of Thermodynamics: Energy is neither created or destroyed
(but can be stored, transferred and converted).

Sun: Earth's major source of energy stored chemically in plants by
photosynthesis,
released when eaten (as heat, mechanical, & biochemical energy to support
life processes). Food is fuel.

Electrical energy: rare in nature. Our main electrical generation technique
heats water
to steam (expanding volume 1600x) for pressure to spin turbines. Converting
chemical energy into heat energy into mechanical energy into electrical energy
is inefficient (most of the energy is wasted as heat, light, or sound in power
plants). And, much of this technology leads to global warming, the result of CO2
emissions' increase over 30% since the start of the industrial era.

How do you make electricity from coal - 3D animated tutorial for First Energy

Here is a 10 minute animated tour of a coal fueled power plant that features
many of the technologies for removing and recycling gas (oxide) and particulate
air pollutants. Unfortunately, this does not solve the CO2 emissions
problem. For that, one future possibility (now being studied) is pumping the CO2
into algae (phytoplankton) beds from which a synthetic fuel similar to
petroleum would be produced.
Chapter 16 Nuclear EnergyNote: To review atomic structure, you may also use this link to chemistry of life.
Nucleus: Cluster of protons & Neutrons at Atom's center.

Isotope: atoms of the same element having different numbers of neutrons.
Some isotopes are unstable, emitting (giving off) particles and energy until
they become other elements. Depending on the element, this can occur quickly or
over a vast period of time.

Radiation: the alpha & beta rays, & gamma particles given off by the
decay of unstable nuclei. Radiation exposure damages cells, causing genetic
mutation, burns, cancers and a type of poisoning that can be fatal.

Half-life: the time it takes for 1/2 the atoms in a radioactive sample to
decay.
Depending on the element, this ranges from seconds to billions of years.

Nuclear fission: a reaction in which the nucleus of an atom, commonly U-235
(only some elements are fissionable), is split into smaller nuclei (called
daughter nuclei).
This emits large amounts of energy. The daughter nuclei are other elements,
many of them also radioactive.

Uranium:
a non-renewable metal element, heavier than lead, toxic as well as radioactive,
that can be mined, refined and used to boil water to generate electricity,
or to construct weapons of mass destruction.

Nuclear Wastes:
High-level wastes: radioactive wastes that emit large amounts of radiation for
long periods of time, making them very dangerous. For now, these wastes are
stored where generated, for example, at nuclear power plants.

Medium-level and low-level waste: dangerous and difficult to handle because
much larger in volume than high-level wastes though less radioactive.

Meltdown: an out-of-control nuclear chain reaction that melts the reactor core
releasing huge amounts of radiation into the environment.

Plutonium, Pu-239 (fissionable) made in a breeder reactor from (nonfissionable)
U-238
(not to be confused with U-235, remember: 8 is closer to 9 than 5).

Nuclear fission produces radioactivity and heat. As in
conventionally-fueled power plants (see last week's diagram), the heat is used
to make steam to spin turbines that turn electric generators (coils of wire in
a magnetic field, larger but structurally similar to the electric motors we
used for our wind energy lab). Nuclear power plants typically consist of a
reactor vessel in which the nuclear fission chain reaction occurs. The reaction
rate is determined by control rods that can be lowered to absorb neutrons,
slowing the chain reaction to help prevent overheating.

Water is important as a coolant -- a "loss of coolant accident" could
lead to meltdown.
There are several reactor technologies. In some designs, the turbine water is
made radioactive by contact with the fuel. In the design shown here, turbine
water is kept separate from the fluid circulated in the reactor.

In breeder reactors, U-238 is converted to fissionable Pu-239 that can be used
either as the fuel or to make nuclear weapons of mass destruction.

The containment structure is intended to prevent the release of radioactivity
in the event of accident.

Since 9/11, it has been proposed that containments should be designed to resist
a jetliner impact (this is not yet the case). Used nuclear fuel is stored in
pools of cooling water at power plants all over the USA, awaiting final
disposal as high level waste that will remain hazardous for 10,000 years. To
date, the state of Nevada continues to resist the federal government's decision
to site this waste repository at Yucca Mountain as described on p260 of our
text.

Active solar heating uses
structures, and pumps or fans added to buildings to collect, store, and
circulate solar energy (heating air or water in flat plate collectors) or using
parabolic mirrors to concentrate solar heat for steam to drive turbines that
spin an electrical generator as illustrated on p232 and on p267, figure 17.2).

Passive
solar heating uses building position and design, has no moving parts. In the
diagram above, note the barrel representing thermal mass that absorbs heat
during day, releasing it slowly after the sun sets. Note also the overhanging
roof that admits low winter sun but shields from the higher summer sun (recall
that seasonal temperature differences are caused by differences in daylength
and solar angle, the lower noontime angle of winter is more diffuse and less
direct than the more nearly perpendicular angle of noontime summer sun).
Photovoltaic (PV) cell: solar energy moves electrons between 2 layers of thin
semiconductor material. Charge differences between the 2 layers result in
electric current flow (see diagram below).

Hydroelectric power: the energy of moving water spins turbines connected to
electric generators. Gravity and the water cycle (powered by the sun) make this
technology possible.

Aerogenerator (wind turbine): electric generators spun by the wind. Solar
powered heat/pressure differences between air masses make this technology
possible.

Geothermal energy: heat from deep underground is used to boil water making
steam
that drives turbines connected to electric generators. The heat is from decay
of
radioactive elements deep within the planet that liquifies rock (magma) in areas
that are
tectonically active (such as Iceland with its many volcanoes).

Nuclear fusion: 2 nuclei fuse to become 1 larger nucleus (opposite of nuclear
fission)
like the sun's heat, generated by hydrogen atoms combining to make helium.
We are many years away from this technology, until now used only in hydrogen
bombs.

Photovoltaic Cell: Charge differences between layers of N-type and P-type silicon (a semiconductor material) result in electric current (electron flow through the circuit on the right) when exposed to photons (light particles). Electrodes attached to the upper and lower silicon layers carry the current through the circuit where work is performed on the load (represented by the starburst on the right). The load could be motors, wristwatches, space satellites, battery chargers or any other devices that run on electricity (i.e.: resist electron
flow).

Remember, solar heating is different from using the sun to generate
electricity, if you need help on the latter, let me know. The 2 main techniques are using solar heat to boil water, powering a steam turbine as in conventional
power stations, except 'it's all done with mirrors', and, photovoltaics, aka
"PV cells" (described above) that collect light on sheets formed from
2 layers of silicon semiconductor material.

Unit
6: Resources in the Biosphere

Chapter 18.1, 2: Minerals and Their
Uses, Obtaining Minerals
Minerals are inorganic, naturally occurring solids, each with a definite
chemical composition and atoms arranged in a specific pattern. Minerals include
many economically valuable metals and
non-metals. Some differences between
metals (such as aluminum, copper and nickel) and nonmetals (such as gypsum,
sulfur and silica) are that metals are ductile
(can be stretched to make wire), malleable
(can be hammered & shaped without breaking), and conductive (let heat and electricity flow easily).

http://www.unige.ch/sciences/terre/mineral/fontbote/teaching/lehne_oredressing/2_callion_ore.jpg
Ores (such as the gold ore shown above) are rocks or minerals that
contain economically desirable metals or nonmetals.

Three ways that ores can be extracted (taken), each with unique risks to
workers
and the environment, include:

http://www.e6.com/en/media/e6/content/1.1.2.1_Underground%20Mining_Source_RAG%20Deutsche%20Steinkohle-275x200.jpg
Subsurface mining: shafts, tunnels, and chambers are blasted and dug to reach
mineral deposits deep underground. These passages can collapse, trapping
miners,
who also risk death from explosions of dust and natural gas. The chronic (routine,
long term) exposure to dust causes many miners to die from lung disease.

http://www.bemax.com.au/images/asx160206bmx3.jpg (Australian zircon mining)
Dredging: digging underwater for minerals or deepen ship channels.
Can destroy benthic (bottom) ecosystems and muddy the water with sediments that
block light and cover organisms.

http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/439-440/image/leaching.gif
Heap leaching: a form of chemical separation in which cyanide (a toxin) or acid
(a corrosive) is sprayed to dissolve gold or other valuable minerals from piles
of crushed ore and the gold or other product is collected. The pools of
hazardous waste poison aquifers, birds and other animals.

Mining and the separation of desired minerals from their ores
result in tailings left in spoil piles, mountains of discarded
materials, often containing a concentration of toxic substances. Great
environmental damage results when these materials are blown by the wind or
leached by rainwater into the aquifer.

Consumers in the United States use more of the world's costly,
non-renewable,
mineral products than any other nation. Increasing attention is turning to the
need for conservation, the strategy
to reduce resource demand and increase efficiency.

Three conservation tactics include:
substitution, using an abundant material instead of a scarce one;
recycling, waste materials are treated and used to make new products;
and, reuse, using the same product
over and over again.

Recycling saves 95% of the energy that it takes to make cans from aluminum ore.

http://www.novelis.com/NR/rdonlyres/8821F55E-34CB-4AC2-AC49-B36C85C1E8E6/0/CanCan60Days.jpgSoil Formation Chap. 18.3, pp295-297Recall that a mineral is an inorganic, naturally occurring solid
with definite chemical composition, atoms arranged in a specific pattern. Rock is composed of one or more
minerals. Example, granite: an igneous rock composed mostly of 3 minerals:
quartz (clear-white), feldspar (pink), and biotite, a form of mica (black).

Bedrock: solid foundation of lithospheric igneous, metamorphic or
sedimentary rock.
Sometimes exposed as mountains, cliffs and plains, bedrock. Serves as base for
rock pieces, sediments, soils and all living things.

Parent rock: rock pieces that are the source for an area of soil are that soil's
parent rock. Usually from bedrock weathering but in areas once glaciated (like
Stoughton) ice may have carried the rocks from elsewhere.

Soil Mismanagement (18.4) pp299-300Human economic motives often drive soil mismanagement, may
include:
- Removal of protective vegetation (by mining, agriculture, deforestation and
construction)
accelerates erosion, especially on steep slopes (mountainous regions). - Compaction (pressure of machinery
and overgrazing animals) decreases moisture
and air-holding (aeration)
properties of soil.
- Deliberate soil removal (for construction and surface grading) and paving
increase runoff,
limits ability of plants to take root (grow) in an area.
- Pollution may make soils toxic.
- Poor irrigation practices in semi-arid regions accelerate evaporation
increasing salt build-up in topsoil, poisoning plants and other soil organisms.
- Government policies or socioeconomic conditions sometimes force nomadic
societies or the poor to settle on nutrient-poor lands that are rapidly
depleted by permanent communities.
Topsoil Erosion (19.3) p311In the USA, 4 billion metric tons of soil are lost each year. 30% of
Earth's land has undergone desertification. Soils may take 1000s of years to
form under natural conditions. Human actions can build soils by adding compost, decomposed (biodegraded)
organic matter that adds valuable nutrients plants need to grow. Unfortunately,
it is more often the case that deforestation (or any removal of protecting
vegetative cover) or poor agricultural practices lead to rapid erosion and
nutrient loss. The question of whether soil is a renewable resource must be
considered in the context of the different question: what is its replacement
rate over time? It is unsustainable to deplete or erode soils faster than they
form.

Asia
is particularly famous for its terraced rice farming technology that dates back
thousands of years and allows dense human populations in regions where
agricultural land is at a premium. Originally a wetland grass, rice needs to be
planted 'wet' but harvested 'dry' giving rise to the complex water management
system seen in the photo below.

Chapter 19 Land Pollution
Solid Wastes have increased with industrialization and the growth of the human
population.

Sanitary Landfills spread solid wastes in layers compacted by heavy equipment and
cover them daily with 15 cm of soil (to exclude pests). Toxic leachate (liquid
or water-soluable substances flowing into soil) may contaminate aquifers so a
liner of clay and/or plastic covers the bottom. Decomposition produces
flammable, explosive methane that must be vented or can be used for power
generation.

Hazardous Wastes are solid, liquid, or gaseous wastes that are potentially harmful
to humans and the environment, even in low concentrations. Include:

Reactive wastes, such as the metal sodium, are so
unstable that they will explode
if mixed with other substances.

Ignitable wastes, such as cleaning fluid and other petrochemicals, can
burst into flames
at relatively low temperatures.

Toxic wastes, such as arsenic, are poisonous to people and cause health
problems
such as birth defects and cancer.

Radioactive wastes, like uranium, burn skin, destroy cells and cause
genetic mutation.
Some take short halflives to decay, others remain dangerously radioactive for
thousands of years, many are also toxic. They include mining wastes, protective
clothing
and equipment used in power plants, nuclear medicine and research.

Medical wastes, such as syringes, old medicines, body fluids and other
medical equipment
that may be toxic, sharp, or carry infectious diseases.

Note that Hazardous home wastes (cleaners, medicines, pesticides) should be
disposed of during your DPW's "hazardous waste day" events (never
dumped down the drain or discarded as ordinary garbage) these are being
replaced by less dangerous products wherever possible.

Controlling Pollution on Land
Volume Reduction: 1/4 of all landfilled wastes are disposable items that
should be replaced
by repairable, reusable or recycleable products (examples include cloth
shopping bags
instead of paper or plastic, cloth handkerchiefs instead of tissues, recycled
paper,
plastic and metals, machines fixed instead of discarded).

Biodegradable substances decompose easily and enrich the soil. They include
natural items
such as grass clippings and other plant material that are most easily returned
to the
environment for recycling by placing them in a compost pile. The result is humus
(decomposed plant material) useful for gardening.

Secure chemical landfills: located in nonporous bedrock, capped by clay to
keep out water.

Controlled incineration: burns wastes at high temperatures up to approx.
1600°C
Chemical and biological treatment plants: use chemical or biological
reactions that neutralize hazardous wastes so that they are no longer hazardous
to dispose of.
Example: mixing acids with bases to neutralize pH.

Radioactive waste disposal: High-level wastes are currently stored in
water-filled
steel containers encased in concrete. These containers are not expected to last
for the 100s to 1000s of years that the wastes remain dangerous. Low-level
wastes are either stored for decay to harmless levels and then discarded like
other solid wastes or
buried in secure chemical landfills.

- More than 50% of the water used in flood
irrigation is lost to evaporation, leaving behind mineral salts that kill
plants.
- furrow irrigation sends water
through ditches between rows (furrows) of plants
- overhead sprinkler systems, often
center pivots circling wellheads, are common but high winds can blow away the
water.

Water diversion projects (taking water for human use) have destroyed many
aquatic habitats, such as California's Mono Lake, the Dead Sea between Israel
and Jordan, and the Aral Sea, located between Kazahkistan and Uzbekistan in the
former USSR (which initiated the process, see images below). These bodies of
water are evaporating and becoming increasingly salty ('hypersaline') as they shrink:

20.2 Water Resources.All water flows by gravity into its own watershed, a river's drainage area that, usually, reaches the
ocean. Some water is absorbed into the ground (groundwater) entering the watershed's aquifer. Paved areas have higher runoff than vegetated areas. Stripped of vegetation, soils are
vulnerable to erosion. Surface waters (streams, ponds) appear where depressions
(low places) intersect the "zone of
saturation", (AKA the aquifer). Aquifers form below the "zone of aeration", meaning that
air fills the pores (spaces) between soil particles until you reach the water table (the top of the aquifer).

As the aquifer discharges to springs, streams, and wells, it is recharged by rainfall. Recharge of an
underground water storage system or aquifer is controlled by the availability
of water (how much it rains) and the ground's porosity characteristics.

If discharge is greater than recharge ("overdraft") the water table sinks and the land above may
undergo subsidence. This can cause
"sink holes" large enough to swallow a house or the entire area may
be lowered as the water is withdrawn, as is happening beneath our
drought-stricken western states, where aquifers like the Ogallala are being
rapidly drained of "fossil" water that took millions of years to
accumulate.

In coastal areas like Cape Cod, overdraft may result in saltwater intrusion. Overdraft is an
unsustainable practice.

20.3 Water treatment Water that is safe to drink is said to be potable.
Desalination of ocean water, is an energy-intensive (costly) solution where
water resources are inadequate to meet the needs of growing human populations.
Desalination (salt removal) techniques include:
- distillation, collecting the
condensate from boiled salt water
- reverse osmosis, water is forced
through a filter that traps contaminants (not only salt), letting fresh water
pass (used by Brockton, MA, where groundwater was made unsafe by industrial
polluters)
- freezing, salt water has a lower
freezing point than fresh. Heat is removed leaving a slushy brine separated
from freshwater ice that can be melted for drinking water use.

Chapter 21 Water PollutionWater pollution includes sewage, organic (carbon-based) wastes
from humans and industry. The largest source of water pollution is agricultural
runoff. Raw sewage is processed in sewage
treatment plants, steps include:
- screening large particles.
- sediments settled in large tanks, scum skimmed off the top.
- liquids (effluent) sterilized by chlorine to kill pathogens (disease-causing
organisms) before return to surface water.
- solids (AKA sludge) go to sludge digesters where air is pumped in to promote
bacterial decomposition.
- solids are then dried to reduce bulk and often marketed as organic
fertilizer.

Note the parallels between water
purification and waste water treatment. That is because, for much of the world,
drinking water comes from the same river in which it and its neighbor's wastes
are disposed of: one community's effluent becomes another community's water
resource. We are fortunate in that our water supply originates from a
combination of protected watersheds located in our town and in an undeveloped
area in the western part of our state.

Water Pollutants and
Sources

Pathogens

Nutrients

Sediments

Toxic
Chemicals

Agricultural
runoff

*

*

*

*

Sewage
Treatment Plants

*

*

*

Industry

*

*

Urban
runoff

*

*

*

?

Mining
runoff

*

*

Construction
runoff

*

*

*

Some Pathogenic
Microorganisms to Know (They Kill Millions Each Year):

Water-borne
pathogens cause more illness and
death than any other environmental factor. Examples include the bacterium that
causes cholera, typhoid fever & dysentery; the worm that causes
schistosomiasis; & the protozoan, found in mosquitoes, that causes malaria.

http://www.adn.com/evos/photos/evos23l.jpg
In addition to 1000s of sea otters, birds, fish, and whales that died,
Clean up crews were exposed to dangerous levels of toxic chemicals

Separating solids from liquids prevents too many nutrients (organic matter,
nitrates and phosphates) getting into surface waters causing eutrophication, when a choking
overgrowth of algae & aquatic plants die, leading to huge increases in
bacterial decomposers that cause an oxygen imbalance suffocating fish &
other aquatic animals (the bacteria use up so much of the dissolved oxygen that
other organisms can't breathe).

At this time in our nation's history, our major source of water
pollution is agriculture including animal wastes, fertilizers, pesticides and
soil in runoff.Organic (such as oil) or inorganic elements and compounds that are directly
harmful to living things are called toxic
chemicals. These pollutants include heavy
metals (metallic elements with a high mass number on the periodic table)
such as mercury, lead and cadmium. Acids, radioactive wastes and heavy metals
may leach, seep, leak or be directly discharged into the water supply.

A large water temperature increase (often from taking and returning water to
cool nuclear power plants) is called thermal
pollution. This means that 2 types of pollution caused by nuclear power
plants can be radioactivity and thermal pollution.

In 1972, the U.S. government passed the Clean
Water Act.

Chapter 22 Air & Noise PollutionPlease don't give in to despair ("pollution is awful, we're all going to die"). Know that air quality is MUCH better than when I was a child.Many air pollution problems and questions (acid rain, leaded gas, the ozone hole, 'is smoking dangerous?') have already been solved or are in the middle of being solved (cleaner fuels, higher emission standards, energy conservation and alternative energy). We have more, smarter, richer people with vastly better science and technology than ever before in human history.

Indoors, the deadliest air pollutant is smoking, which causes emphysema, a disease in which tiny air sacs in the lungs break down, and lung cancer (cancer = out-of-control cell growth).

Another health problem is Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoning that prevents oxygen from binding to blood hemoglobin. (hemoglobin is the protein in red blood cells that carries the oxygen from your lungs to all parts of your body). Like CO2, CO is a product of combustion, the oxidation of carbon aka "burning."

Air
pollution damages crops and pollutes water and soil, entering our food
chain. Air pollution has global as well as local effects.

Acid precipitation is rain or snow with a very low pH, mainly caused by oxides from coal-burning power plants combining with water in the air.

pH is a measure of the power of hydrogen ions (H+) dissolved in a solution: The more H+, the more acid (sour), the lower the pH number. the less H+, the more base (bitter), the higher the pH number. Both
extreme acids and extreme bases are highly corrosive. The pH scale is
logarithmic (each number is ten times stronger or weaker than the
previous number). The top pH is 14. Distilled water is neutral (7 pH).
Acids, like vinegar, have a pH lower than 7. Bases, like ammonia, have
pH higher than 7. Normal rain or snow is slightly acidic (5.6 pH)
because it forms a weak carbolic acid by combining with Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere.

Ozone depletion results from breakdown of ozone (O3) molecules in the atmosphere by the Chlorine (Cl) and Flourine (F) in compounds known as CFCs.
Recall that stratospheric ozone protects from UV rays, but tropospheric
ozone is a corrosive pollutant that can cause serious breathing
problems, making ozone: "good up high, bad nearby."

"To manage the avoidable and to avoid the unmanageable" -- Thomas Freidman, 2008.

Some
air pollutants are removed by natural processes such as precipitation
and biological activity. Air pollutants can be reduced by controlling
automobile and industrial emissions. Fear of economic hardship has made
air pollution control a tough sell. People want a clean environment but
are we willing to pay the price?

Noise, measured in decibels (dB),
can also be a pollutant. Loud or persistent noise above 80dB can cause
hearing loss, stress & other health problems. The federal
government limits allowable noise levels.

Ozone Depletion
is a solved problem that was being caused by CFCs
(chlorofluorocarbons). CFCs began to be banned in the USA in 1978 and
in other countries since then. Ozone Depletion will (over a long period
of time) eventually stop through natural processes.

Global Warming
(aka climate change) is the major environmental problem of our time.
Global Warming and our recognition of its effects have significantly
increased since the 1990s when the information in our text was
gathered. Global Warming is caused by burning fossil fuels, currently
our society's main power source, and a valuable nonrenewable resource
required for many purposes besides just burning it up for fuel. We need
to stop burning fossil fuels and develop our many existing energy
alternatives.

It
is not helpful that people with a vested interest in "business as usual" have succeeded in confusing many people
about whether or not Global Warming is "real" and our action required.Many
different sources of information collected by 1000s of scientists
dating back to the 19th century all point to the inescapable conclusion
that in spite of particular weather events, the overall trend is
hotter, in some places wetter, in others dryer, in some places windier,
in others less windy. The most rapid changes are occurring in the polar
regions. For the first time in human history, merchant ships now cross
the Arctic Ocean. In the temperate zone the changes are also notable: New England's mean annual temperature is 4.3°F (2.4°C) warmer than it was 150 years ago.

Ignoring
Global Warming is likely to cause planetary habitat destruction with
wars and mass extinctions from competition among nations and species
fleeing floods, droughts, wildfires, and sea level rise. While climate
change and accompanying shifts in environmental conditions have always
occurred, the present changes, instigated 200 years ago by our
industrial revolution (and still incomplete for that majority of
humanity that lives in the still-developing nations) are happening more
rapidly than ecosystems can adjust to. The result will be different ecosystems (No, this does not
mean 'the world is going to end and we're all going to die'. It does
mean that you'd better get the best education you can and plan on a
process of lifelong learning as you continue adapting to change as it
occurs).

Managing Global Warming will require major economic and
social adaptations. One incentive for paying attention to this issue is
that there will be many financial opportunities for those who enter the
careers that will assist humanity in surviving (and hopefully
prospering) through this dramatic transition.

Unit 7 Managing Human Impact

Chapter 23 Habitat DestructionAs of May 6, 2010, if BP's ~25002mile
Gulf oil spill had spread out over our state, it would have covered an area
the size of all of Eastern Massachusetts including the Cape. Depending
on source, the leak, 5000 feet below the ocean surface, was been
flowing at a rate somewhere between 200,000 and 2 million gallons per
day since March 20th (image from
<http://paulrademacher.com/oilspill/>):

Over
the weekend (5.8-9.10) a massive structure, the size of a 4-story building,
lowered over the main source of the oil failed to contain the spill
when it was clogged by methane hydrates -- a sort of ice made of
natural gas. The port of Mobile, Alabama began construction of a giant
gate to separate itself from the floating oil should it reach that far.
And the state of Louisiana, fearing what the coming hurricane season
might do, planned to build massive dikes as a barrier between the oil
and the fragile marsh ecosystems that are the base of the state's
important fishing industry. Update: 5.12.10: BP inserted a hose it has succeeded in taking up only a small fraction of the gushing oil.Update 5.30.10:
Much of the heavy crude has remained below the surface, perhaps because
of the effects of the highly toxic chemical dispersants (surfactants)
being used near the sea floor (as well as at the surface) to break up
the oil. The EPA has demanded that BP stop using these chemicals. The
federal government has revised its estimates of the spill's severity
saying it was up to 4 times worse than BP had reported, significantly
worse than the previous record-holder, the nearly 12 million gallons
spilled by the Exxon Valdez in 1989. Last week, BP poured 30,000 tons
of "mud" on the spill site in what they referred to as a "top kill" in
combination with a "junk shot": attempting to block the flowing oil with
bits of knotted rope, golf balls and other debris intended to stop up
the pipe. None of this worked. The oil entered the "loop current" having
the potential to round Florida and reach Cuba and the Eastern Seaboard.

The 4.20.10 accident was revealed to have been caused by a
series of mishaps, equipment failures and poor management decisions: A
back up electronic control pod on the blowout preventer was shown to
have been unreliable and to have had a faulty battery. The rubber gasket
that was the only means of shutting off the well's flow was severely
damaged during a safety test. BP management overruled their contractor's
recommendation and removed "mud", a man-made drilling fluid critical
for holding back the well's flow, before 3 cement plugs were in place.
The procedure for sealing off the well continued in spite of the
unanticipated appearance of "mud" being expelled by gas pressure in the
borehole. A fascinating eyewitness account was aired on the CBS program
"60 Minutes" and discussed in class. In class, students asked about the current status of the shrinking Aral Sea. Here is a picture from April 5, 2010:

nasa

Disturbing the part of an ecosystem an organism is adapted to and needs to survive.is called habitat destruction. This is the main cause of extinction
(the disappearance of one or more populations of a species from all or
part of its geographic range). Extinction is a loss to the biodiversity
of an ecosystem. Many things can lead to habitat destruction. For
example, non-native species introduced to an area by humans (AKA "alien species" may out-compete native species for resources. When habitats are destroyed, specialized species are more likely than generalized species
to become extinct. A specialized species (such as the panda) usually
disappears with the loss of its food source. A generalized species
(such as the raccoon) may be able to find another habitat where it can
meet its needs. People are doing things to preserve biodiversity such
as maintaining areas of wilderness, places that remain relatively undisturbed by human actions. Some people are establishing "gene banks", secure places (a bit like Noah's Ark) where seeds, plants or other genetic material are stored to prevent extinction. A gene is a stretch of DNA containing the information that shapes one of the proteins of an organism.

More
than 99% of every species that has ever lived has gone extinct.
Relatively short periods of time in which many species go extinct are
called mass extinctions. With entire ecosystems disappearing,
we are in the midst of a mass extinction that seems unique for being
the 1st such event caused by a single species (us). It is thought that
nearly all the major animal groups were formed during the Cambrian
Explosion, an adaptive radiation, or period of rapid evolution, about
530 million years ago, during which it took only a few million years to
fill vacant niches. More recently, the Cretaceous Extinction, 65
million years ago, wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs, marking the onset
of the Cenozoic period, the age of mammals. About half of all US
forests and more than half of all wetlands have been destroyed. This
makes it hard for us to tell developing nations to protect rain forests
and mangrove swamps.

The text (written in the 1990s) predicts
the loss of the "Aral Sea", once the world's 4th largest lake, by 2010
because its 2 main river sources were diverted for irrigation. Go
on-line, did this prediction prove accurate? Explain.

Chapter 24 Sustainable FutureThe
guiding strategy for conservation is to reduce resource use by
increasing use efficiency and decreasing demand. One conservation
tactic is Source reduction, reducing resource use by lowering amount of a resource needed to satisfy demand. Another tactic, familiar to everyone, is recycling, reducing resource use by collecting usable waste materials and using them to produce new items.

Because
the burning of nonrenewable fossil fuels is a major obstacle to
achieving a sustainable future, important ways that we can conserve
energy at home are to use less hot water and, when shopping for major
appliances, we should look for those that are labeled as having a high energy rating ("Energy Star") because they use less
energy to maintain their operating temperature. Examples include
freezers, stoves, water heaters, refrigerators, dish washers, clothes
washers, and dryers.

An important conservation strategy for conserving endangered species is the establishment of wildlife preserves,
areas of land or water set aside for the protection of the ecosystem in
that area. To fulfill its function, a wildlife preserve must contain
all components of an ecosystem. One drawback of preserves is that they
are seldom large enough to contain everything that a genetically viable
population needs to survive. Habitat "fragmentation" may lead to small natural areas connected by narrow corridors. Such areas support much lower levels of biodiversity than a large unbroken areas of wilderness.

Chapter 25 Environmental ProtectionEnvironmental issues often have an economic component: the law of supply and demand
(that prices are set by how much sellers want to sell and buyers want
to buy) can be illustrated with a supply-demand curve: price varies
with what the market will bear. BTW this kind of "curve" can look
straight. The prices we pay for nonrenewable resources such as gasoline
reflect perceptions of scarcity as well as risk assessments of "how
dangerous it is" to use or obtain a particular technology based on past
experience, experiment, and cause/effect models.

Here is a supply-demand curve:

Note that as quantity of the resource supply increases, the Demand line and price per unit go down.

Note
that as the seriousness (minimal to catastrophic) and the likelihood
(extremely improbable to near certainty) of the risk increase we enter
the high-scoring red zone where immediate action is imperative.Cost/benefit analyses
are one way of determining "is it worth it?", weighing the good and bad
of an activity against its costs, both now and later. Policies are a
government, company, or other organization's decision on how to deal
with an issue. Policies include a plan of action, with rules backed by
incentives (rewards), and penalties (punishments). Policy decisions are
based on risk assessment: and cost/benefit analysis. Some people argue
that cost/benefit analyses have failed in the past because:
a: How do you put a price on things we all want or need:
beautiful habitats lush with biodiversity, clean air, pure water?
b: when everyone shares different levels of responsibility for damage to the environment,how do we charge for the costs?
c: different interest groups assign different values to items on a list
of costs and benefits resulting in different policy decisions. Too often, factors needed for healthy environmental conditions have been "externalized": unfairly excluded from consideration in the discussion because no economic cost or benefit was assigned.

Here is an example of a cost/benefit analysis:

Note
that there is a "sweet spot" in the center. To the left, doing
"nothing" will cause economic harm (to health, real estate values,
necessities like drinkable water and breathable air), to the right, the
increasing costs don't justify the minimal benefit of getting rid of
every last bit of pollution.

Final Exam Review: The exam primarily focuses on Units 5-7.
The following key ideas from Unit 4 are also included:

Ethics are societies' statements of moral values (right vs. wrong). A "sustainable development" ethic
seeks to meet global human needs without limiting the ability of future
generations to meet their needs. This means re-engineering society so
humans can last indefinitely into the future by not using up Earth's
limited food, water, living space, and energy resources.

It may once
have seemed that human's could continue to expand into unexplored
frontiers, areas previously untouched by humans and rich in resources
that were ripe for our exploitation. This old-school "frontier" ethic is now characterized by our text as being 'out-of-touch' with reality because it continues to selfishly assume that
- Earth's resources are unlimited, and meant soley for human consumption,
- people are separate from nature (not subject to natural laws), and,
- human success is measured by 'control' over natural world.
These notions fail to reflect what we are learning about how Earth
actually functions and the growing human population's impact on natural
systems we depend on for our survival. You should be able to give
several examples that demonstrate the shortcomings of the frontier
ethic given the state of our world today.

- Renewable resources are those that regenerate quickly (return to initial levels within a human lifespan). - Nonrenewable resources
either do not regenerate or have regeneration times vastly longer than
a human lifespan. For example, soils, a product of the weathering of
rock particles over vast spans of time and the breakdown of organic
materials by soil organisms (worms and other small invertebrates, as
well as decomposer bacteria and fungi). In both cases, agricultural
practices are depleting a resource we depend on for our food supply and
promoting the desertification of our planet. Monoculture (huge fields
growing just 1 crop) take the nutrients out of the soil, leaving
farmers dependent on agricultural chemicals that kill soil organisms,
preventing the important work they do in restoring soil fertility.
Tilling, the turning and loosening of soil to grow the crop, has the
unfortunate side-effect of promoting erosion by wind and water.